How volunteering can help change a life

Volunteering is an important part of the veterinary culture and can help broaden and diversify an individual’s career path. It provides wide-reaching benefits to the recipients, the volunteers, and the community as a whole. Additionally, voluntary and charitable work can reshape the ethos and vision of a business. This Volunteers' Week (1-7 June 2023), I'm sharing how StreetVet, a charity fuelled by hundreds of volunteer vets and veterinary nurses, operates and why being a volunteer is so important.

Who is StreetVet?

What started as two vets and a backpack in 2016, is now an award-winning national registered charity offering free accessible vet care to pets belonging to those experiencing homelessness. StreetVet is driven by more than 300 vets and vet nurse volunteers who swap the practice for the pavement in 17 locations across the UK and growing. StreetVet recognises and champions the importance of the human-animal bond and, in discovering that less than 10% of UK hostels are pet friendly, launched the StreetVet Accredited Hostel Scheme to make it as easy as possible for hostels to say yes to pets, and prioritise keeping our clients and their pets together.

Why is volunteering so important?

Motivations to volunteer are wide and varied, but common themes arise. The vets and vet nurses who volunteer for StreetVet often describe how volunteering has reignited their passion for the veterinary profession. It gives them a sense of community and shared values, it’s like being part of a family of like-minded people and it gives them an opportunity to form new friendships.

For StreetVet, volunteering is how we exist. Our committed vets, vet nurses, and support volunteers give up their time and skills to help those who really need attention and care from people who understand them and their pets. For StreetVet clients, their pet can be their only support network and family, so providing a veterinary safety net is so important and a real privilege for our volunteers to be part of.

We’ve gathered some quotes from volunteers and included these below to give you a taste of what volunteering is all about:

How can you get involved and volunteer for StreetVet?

It’s really easy to sign up to volunteer for StreetVet. All that is asked is that you commit a minimum of two hours of volunteering a month. You will be given all the training required. As part of StreetVet’s commitment to our volunteers, we offer to fulfil your annual 35 hours of CPD requirements free of charge. If you're a vet or vet nurse and interested in volunteering for StreetVet, please visit the StreetVet website and fill out our expression of interest form.

We look forward to welcoming you to the StreetVet team!